Red Chile Salsa (for Meat Tacos)

A typical salsa served with sausage and suadero (deep fried beef chunks) as well as tripa (intestines), this simple sauce should have a little heat but not blow you away. The color will be bright red, and the chile seeds are often left in for more heat. The salsa should be thick, rather than thin, the better to spoon on a taco.

Serving Ideas: This salsa is good with fried meats and sausages.

This recipe is from the book:

Salsas and Moles: Fresh and Authentic Recipes for Pico de Gallo, Mole Poblano, Chimichurri, Guacamole, and More

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Ingredients

2 cups water

2 roma tomatoes

2 guajillo chiles

10 dried Puya, Japones, or De Arbol Chilies

3 large cloves garlic

1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Step 1

Bring the water to a boil in a small pot over medium heat, add the tomatoes, and simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer the tomatoes to a bowl to cool. Reserve the cooking water.

Step 2

While the tomatoes are cooking, stem the chiles. Remove the stems and seeds from the guajillo chiles and tear into small pieces. soak all of the chiles in the tomato cooking water for about 45 minutes, or until soft.

Step 3

When the chiles are soft, drain them (reserve the soaking water) and place in a blender, along with the garlic and salt. Peel the tomatoes and add them and any juices to the blender. Puree the salsa until smooth: some chile seeds will still be visible. THe salsa will be thick, so you may want to add up to 1/4 cup of the reserved soaking water.